I just had my second baby on February 19, so since the hospital stay is fresh in my mind, I thought I’d share a peek into what I packed this time around.

When my first baby was born, I remember doing tons of research to try to figure out what to pack. This time around, I had the benefit of that past experience, and I knew the things I definitely used last time, the things I DIDN’T use, and the things I wished I’d brought along.

The list wasn’t necessarily shorter this time (I still felt like we were moving into the hospital with so many things!), but I used just about everything I brought. Here’s what I packed:

For Me:

• Baby book (I had them put his footprints directly into the book after delivery)
• Birth goals (print these out and bring them with you so the nurses can easily reference your goals)
• Pillow with non-white case (bringing your favorite pillow from home makes a big difference, and the colored pillowcase makes it much less likely that you’ll leave it at the hospital!)
• Snacks (I had a loooong induction this time, so the snacks were incredibly necessary for both my husband and me during the birth as well as in mother/baby)
• Water bottle and Liquid IV (I love mixing Liquid IV into my water for extra electrolytes, and they were certainly needed during labor!)
• Scrunchie (you’ll definitely want to pull your hair back at some point)
• Lip balm
• Portable phone charger and cord
• Mask (I was able to take my mask off after testing negative for COVID, but you’ll need it for entering and leaving the hospital)
• Disposable underwear (I MUCH prefer using disposable underwear to putting huge pads in my own undies after giving birth; and was glad I had these to wear home. It feels much less messy to just toss the disposable underwear. I love the “Always Discreet Underwear”! I even ended up using some during labor when I was bleeding a bit and didn’t want to make a mess everywhere.)
• Slippers (these make things much comfier in mother/baby)
• Glasses, contact case, and solution
• Brush
• Dry Shampoo (washing my hair and blowing it dry in the hospital wasn’t something I was interested in, so dry shampoo was the perfect solve)
• Going home outfit (For me this consisted of high-waisted yoga pants, a nursing cami, and a comfy sweater. You’ll notice I didn’t pack any other clothes for myself, because while I’m in the hospital I prefer just wearing their gowns. They get gross and often bloodstained, and I’d rather leave those there than worry about my own clothes getting stained, bringing them home, etc.)
• Minimal toiletries (toothbrush and toothpaste, makeup-remover wipes, face moisturizer, travel loofah, body wash—that’s about it!)
• Makeup (I brought a few key makeup items and used them before heading home)

For The Baby:

• Car seat
• Going-home clothes
• 1-2 other outfits
• Diaper bag (although they have all the essentials—diapers, wipes, blankets, etc.—at the hospital!)
• Gift for him to “give” his big sister